Remarks by Stephen Hadley to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee National Summit 2005
(Via Satellite)
As Prepared For Delivery
Los Angeles, California

It's an honor to have the opportunity to address such a distinguished
group. I would like to extend my thanks to AIPAC, Bernice Manocherian,
Howard Kohr, and attendees of the Summit for giving me an opportunity to
join you today. I only regret that I am not able to be with you in person.

Earlier this month, speaking before the National Endowment for Democracy,
President Bush outlined the five principles on which our nation's strategy
in the War on Terror is based. First, he said, "we're determined to
prevent the attacks of terrorist networks before they occur." Second,
"we're determined to deny weapons of mass destruction to outlaw regimes,
and to their terrorist allies who would use them without hesitation."
Third, "we're determined to deny radical groups the support and sanctuary
of outlaw regimes." Fourth, the President stated that "we're determined to
deny the militants control of any nation, which they would use as a home
base and a launching pad for terror."

There is little disagreement that America will be more secure if we
continue successfully to fulfill these four principles. It is important to
note that Israel will also benefit from our achievement of these aims.

The President's fifth principle, however, has drawn criticism from some
circles. The President declared that "we're determined to deny the
militants future recruits by replacing hatred and resentment with democracy
and hope across the broader Middle East." Some deride this "freedom
agenda" as idealistic and na ve. Some argue that although
well-intentioned, the short-term costs exceed any potential long-term
benefits from democratization in the Middle East. The President
respectfully disagrees. He believes the freedom agenda is critical for
both the United States and Israel. So, this afternoon I would like to
discuss why the effort to spread freedom throughout the Muslim world will
leave both the United States, and Israel, safer and more secure.

Although we have sometimes struggled to find the proper label for the enemy
we face in the War on Terror - be it Islamic extremists, militant
Jihadists, or Islamo-fascists - we have a clear understanding of the nature
of the enemy and the ideology that motivates them. Rarely do we get so
clear a window into their thinking as the recent letter by Osama Bin
Laden's second-in-command, Ayman al Zawahiri, to al Qaeda's top commander
in Iraq, Abu Musab al Zarqawi. In this letter, Zawahiri outlines al
Qaeda's strategy in four steps. The first step, in Zawahiri's words, is to
expel the Americans from Iraq. Next, to establish an Islamic caliphate and
expand it until it achieves control over as much territory as possible in
Iraq. In the third step, al Qaeda would then extend their jihad to the
countries neighboring Iraq, including Syria, Jordan, Egypt, and Saudi
Arabia. The final step of al Qaeda's strategy, Zawahiri says, is "the
clash with Israel, because Israel was established to challenge any new
Islamic entity." Calls for violence against "Zionists" are a persistent and
pathetic staple of Bin Laden's rhetoric and action. We must not take this
strategy lightly.

The strongest bulwark against the rise of a terrorist regime in Iraq is the
establishment of a well-rooted democratic government, embraced by all of
Iraq's people. Such a government is best able both to defeat the
terrorists in Iraq and to serve as a beacon of hope and possibility for
reformers throughout the Middle East. Already, we have witnessed historic
elections in Iraq last January, followed by successful elections in
Afghanistan and Lebanon. This year also saw the beginnings of reform in
Egypt, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia. Walid Jumblatt, the leader of the
Lebanese Druze, and an admitted opponent of Operation Iraqi Freedom,
recognized after the January election that Iraq's transformation was having
a catalytic effect in the region. "It's strange for me to say it, but this
process of change has started because of the American invasion of Iraq. I
was cynical about Iraq. But when I saw the Iraqi people voting three weeks
ago, 8 million of them, it was the start of a new Arab world. The Syrian
people, the Egyptian people, all say that something is changing. The Berlin
Wall has fallen. We can see it." Although we do not expect these
transformations to occur overnight, there is reason to be optimistic for
the future of democracy in the Middle East.

The passage of the new Iraqi constitution by popular referendum represents
another historic milestone on the road to a free Iraq. More importantly,
perhaps, the simple fact that over 9 million Iraqis chose to participate in
the referendum, despite death threats from the terrorists, demonstrates
their desire for freedom rather than a return to tyranny.

If freedom prevails in Iraq, others in the region - including Syria and
Iran - will be under greater pressure to open up their repressive political
systems. And that is good news for Israel. For Israel should not be
condemned, in the name of stability, to live in a region where despots
threaten to "wipe them off the map."

The spread of democracy will make the Middle East a safer neighborhood for
Israel. An American retreat from Iraq, on the other hand, would only
strengthen the terrorists who seek the enslavement of Iraq and the eventual
destruction of Israel.

It is the spread of freedom, democracy, and justice that is the antidote to
Islamic extremism. Experience shows that it is not poverty, but rather
alienation, that most encourages terrorism. Muhammed Atta and the other
9/11 hijackers were predominantly middle class and well-educated. They and
many Islamic terrorists like them are clearly alienated from their
societies. Unable to visualize a meaningful future within their political
systems, they were susceptible to radical alternatives to it. When people
have been denied their fundamental rights, they have little stake in the
existing order.

The terrorists capitalize on this discontent. They stoke it with a
narrative of Arab and Muslim grievance and victimization at the hands of
the infidel West and the Zionists. It is precisely because the people the
terrorists seek to recruit are powerless that they are vulnerable to this
siren song.

The antidote to this radical vision is democracy, justice, and the freedom
agenda. This agenda offers empowerment as an alternative to enslavement.
It offers participation in place of exclusion. It offers the marketplace
of ideas to counter the dark world of conspiracy theory. It offers
individual rights and human dignity instead of violence and murder.
Fundamentally, it means people participating in governing themselves,
rather than being governed by others whom they never choose, never change,
and never influence.

The freedom agenda also is critical to ending terror in the Palestinian
territories. That is why President Bush places such great importance on
the recent and upcoming elections there. For only when Palestinians are
able freely to express themselves through ballots rather than bombs will we
be able to get on the road to security for Israel. As Natan Sharansky
wrote in The Case for Democracy, "The only way a Palestinian state will not
endanger the Jewish state is if it is a state whose leadership is dependent
on the people they govern."

We recognize that freedom and democracy require more than just elections.
For while democracy is the long-term foundation for security, in the short
run security is also the foundation for the practice of democracy.
Palestinian President Abbas earned the trust of his people when he was
elected on a platform of peace this past January. Now the Palestinian
Authority must make good on that promise by fighting terrorism. President
Abbas must carry through on his slogan "One Authority, One Law, One Gun" by
confronting the threat that armed gangs and terrorist militias pose to a
democratic Palestine. We have made it very clear to him- especially in the
wake of the vicious attack in Hadera - that he should begin by acting
promptly and forcefully against Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

Israel has a lot riding on President Abbas' success in this effort. For
the groups that threaten to destabilize the nascent Palestinian democracy
are largely the same groups as those responsible for the wanton slaughter
of innocent Israeli citizens.

We witnessed a positive first step in the active coordination and
ground-level cooperation between Israeli and Palestinian security forces
prior to and during Israel's courageous disengagement from Gaza and parts
of the West Bank. It is in Israel's self-interest to carry this effort
forward and become an active participant in promoting Palestinian
democracy, security reform, and economic prosperity.

Much of the appeal of Hamas and other extremists' in the West Bank and Gaza
stems from Yassir Arafat's staggering corruption and denial of vital
resources and freedom to the Palestinian people. The Palestinian people
saw who drove limousines through the streets -- and who built health care
centers in the refugee camps -- and they shifted their loyalties
accordingly. President Abbas must avoid the mistakes of the past. The
Palestinian Authority must earn the confidence of its people by having a
transparent, functioning government that delivers economic opportunity and
the rule of law rather than institutionalized corruption and the rule of
the gun. The Palestinian people are finally beginning to expect this of
their leaders. Prior to the withdrawal from Gaza, Palestinians
overwhelmingly named the "end of the occupation" as their top priority.
But since the Gaza disengagement, their highest priority is improvement in
economic life in the Palestinian areas, fifteen percentage points ahead of
fighting corruption and "ending the occupation."

A prosperous, democratic Palestinian society would provide the political
basis and the needed resources for the Palestinian Authority to fight the
terrorists within Palestinian territory before they can threaten Israeli
citizens. Israel will benefit in the long-run by enacting the steps that
Quartet Special Envoy Jim Wolfensohn has identified as most critical for
the Palestinian economy. These include: connecting the West Bank and Gaza;
improving the ability of Palestinians to travel within the West Bank; and
beginning work on the Gaza seaport. Israel has an opportunity to undermine
through non-military means those who threaten its security, and has made a
good start by agreeing to the opening of the Rafah crossing.

In conclusion, Israel - and the friends of Israel - have a big stake in the
future direction of the broader Middle East. For sixty years the United
States pursued a policy of stability in that region, often times at the
expense of freedom and justice. But pursuit of stability made neither the
United States nor Israel safer. True security in the Middle East can only
come from the transformation of the region's politics and the emergence of
governments that respect basic human rights, do not threaten their
neighbors, join in the fight against terror, and pursue the prosperity of
their peoples. It is for this reason that Israel and its friends should
seek to advance the cause of freedom in Iraq, in the Palestinian
territories, and throughout the region.

In June 2002, speaking before the American Enterprise Institute's World
Forum, Natan Sharansky said: "We are in the midst of the first world war
of the twenty-first century, waged between the world of terror and the
world of democracy, between those for whom human life is held in the
highest value and those for whom human life is merely an instrument to
reach certain political aims. The world of democracy will win this
struggle. But in order for the victory to be everlasting, it is crucial,
but not sufficient to destroy terrorism. It is imperative to expand the
world our enemies are trying to destroy, to export democracy."

As you know, President Bush is a dedicated friend of Israel. He has
pledged to Prime Minister Sharon that he will never ask Israel to take
risks with its security to suit U.S. purposes or to suit U.S. politics -
and he never will. But if we succeed in our broader objectives in the War
on Terror and in Iraq, Israel will be more secure as a result.

The relationship between the United States and Israel is the warm and
supportive friendship of two strong democracies, and it has never been
stronger. With your help, we will keep it that way, and we will together
help to build a Middle East where Israel's democracy is joined by others
that share its devotion to peace.